


Shortcuts

by flipomatic



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, I've been told this is slow burn, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26487571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipomatic/pseuds/flipomatic
Summary: When Emira is barred from the secret passages through the school by the multi-track girl who guards them, she knows what she has to do. Ed says they should sneak around her, but Emira has her pride. All she has to do is be nice enough to Viney to gain her approval. At least, that’s how it started. Sometimes things change.
Relationships: Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 205
Kudos: 616





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve got this outlined out with 12 chapters and an epilogue. This is going to be a fairly large project for me, so we’ll see how that goes.
> 
> Something I reference in this fic is general education classes. I don’t know this for sure, but it seems like they have some classes in their track and some classes with students from other tracks. I’m calling those mixed classes general education classes.

When Ed told her that there could be secret passages in the walls of Hexside, Emira knew they just had to find them. It was too good of an opportunity to miss.

Another student in their grade claimed to have seen a wall open in the astronomy classroom. He couldn’t get it open himself, or even identify which wall it had been on, but reported the mystery to Ed. If anyone could find those passages and put them to good use, it would be the Blight twins. The same day they heard about it, they made sure to stay after school to investigate.

The location sighting was where the twins started their search, in the astronomy classroom. The door had already been locked for the day, but that had never stopped them before. Emira was getting quite good at opening locks with magic.

Once inside, they tapped on every wall to search for a hollow spot or a hidden door, but didn’t have any luck finding one. All the walls seemed to be normal solid walls.

Ed looked like he was thinking hard as he squinted at the astronomy markings on the walls. He had his arms crossed, posture slightly slouched.

“How about we split up.” Emira suggested, drawing his attention to her. “I’ll look in the downstairs rooms, you stay up here.” They might have better luck if they covered more ground.

“Alright.” Ed nodded with a sigh. “But I’m starting to think Kyle lied to us.”

“We’ll see.” They had just checked one room so far, so Emira wasn’t ready to give up yet. “See you at the front in an hour?”

“Yeah.” Ed waved her off with one hand, turning back to continue scrutinizing the wall.

Emira left him there, walking to the main staircase to head downstairs. There wasn’t a soul in the school at this time of day; it had been a few hours since school got out and most students were gone within half an hour of the last bell. Still, Emira exercised caution as she reached the stairs, casting a quick spell to enhance her hearing to listen for footsteps.

After a few moments of blessed silence, Emira released the spell and moved down the stairwell. She wasn’t sure which rooms were most likely to have the passages, so she just started with the classrooms in the back of the school.

The first few she checked were standard classrooms, ones with nothing particularly special about them. Emira checked the chalkboard and the back wall in each, but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

Her luck changed when she reached the detention track room. At least, it used to be the detention track room. Emira remembered hearing that all of the detention track students had been assigned multiple tracks after Luz started at Hexside. It had definitely come up in Mittens’ many retellings of how Luz saved her from the basilisk.

There were still bars on the door, a reminder of what the room had been. Much to Emira’s surprise, when she reached to try and open the door it was already unlocked. That was quite strange, as every other classroom had been sealed shut.

Emira pushed the door open, glancing around the room as she entered. It had just a few tables and chairs in it, along with a blackboard and barred windows. When Emira ran her finger across the nearest table, she came back with a layer of dust. It looked like nobody had used this room in a while.

Emira moved away from the table to check out the chalkboard. It looked clean, without a speck of dust on it. Well, that was certainly strange.

Emira ran her hand across the board, pausing when she felt a faint pulse of magic.

Bingo.

She could feel the traces of magic on one part of the board. This was almost certainly the entrance to the secret passages. Or someone had been doing magic too close to the board and magically charged it, but Emira was pretty sure she was right.

Emira pulled her hand back and drew a magic circle, casting an unlocking spell. A square of what looked to be chalk appeared on the board, lighting up the room. There was a small keyhole in the center of the square.

The square of chalkboard shifted forward as if on a hinge, causing Emira to step back to avoid being hit by it. Inside she could see a straight corridor, leading to a regular door. It was decorated with a green “Keep Out!” sign and light could be seen underneath it.

She smiled; this had almost been too easy.

Emira lifted her leg to enter the small passage, barely able to squeeze through the entrance. The students who used this must’ve been smaller than her, in order to not get stuck.

The chalkboard door closed behind her as she entered, which cut off one of her sources of light, but the light from under the door ahead guided her path. After a few steps Emira reached the next door. She pulled it open, immediately gasping at what she saw.

On the other side of that door was a huge circular room that was lined from floor to ceiling with more doors. It rose up with a spiral ramp and had to be at least as tall as the school. On one wall there was a strangely graffitied painting of an orange haired teen, along with some graffiti tags.

Most surprising though was the presence of another witch. She was sitting low on the ramp, legs dangling over the side as she read from a large book. Her long brown hair was pulled into a bun and she had one large hook like earing in her right ear. She wore the Hexside school uniform, though it looked torn in a couple places. Interestingly, her sleeves were blue for the healing track and her leggings were orange for the beast keeping track.

Emira was pretty sure they had one class together, one of her general education classes. Her name was Viney.

She didn’t seem to notice when Emira entered the room.

After looking around for a few moments, Emira cleared her throat. “Nice room you have here.” She said, trying to give a sincere smile and not startle the room’s inhabitant.

Viney tensed, her green eyes shooting up to lock on Emira. “How…” She started to ask, then shook her head and started the question over. “What are you doing in here? This room is off limits.” She said, closing her book roughly. Her voice had a slight scratchiness to it.

“Just looking around. I heard a rumor today and wanted to check it out.” Emira played it cool, turning to look at the various doors around her. “Where do these doors lead?” She asked.

“Around the school.” Viney rose to her feet, leaving the book on the ramp. As she walked down to be on the base level, Emira noticed she was shorter than expected. Not only that, but the top of her uniform was held together with a small thorn shaped pin instead of a button. “Why do you want to know?” She asked in a cautious tone, like she thought Emira was up to no good.

“Just curious,” Emira pointed towards one of the doors, one that had similar decorations to the astronomy classroom walls. “So, would that one lead out to the astronomy room?”

Viney looked back over her shoulder to see which door, then nodded as she turned back to Emira. “Yes, it does.”

“Very interesting.” Emira was already concocting a plan in her mind. “If Ed is still in there, I bet I could jump out and scare him.” He would never see it coming, though he could’ve already left the room.

“That’s what you want to use the shortcuts for?” Viney crossed her arms, tone lowered. “You can’t just come in here and prank others. No way.” She frowned disapprovingly. Emira felt that, if this had been a test, she had already failed.

“It’ll only take a moment.” Emira persisted and tried to move around her to reach the ramp, but Viney stepped in her way.

“I said no.” Despite her shortness Viney’s posture was firm, her form unyielding.

Emira sighed. If she really wanted to, she could use magic to get around the other teen, but that didn’t seem like the best option here. She would probably just get reported to the principal and have to explain to her parents why she was lurking in the school after hours.

“Okay, I get it.” Emira took a step back, trying to deflate the tension in the room. “I’ll go.” She stepped away again, keeping her eyes on Viney.

The other teen didn’t move, just watched her go with narrowed green eyes.

When Emira reached the door she turned to push it open, quickly shutting it behind her when she made it through. She exited the chalkboard door the same way, squeezing back out of it.

Emira retraced her path back upstairs to the astronomy classroom to look for Ed. Of course, he had moved on by then, so she instead had to wait for him in front of the school. Emira chose a bench near the front door to wait on, keeping an ear out for trouble.

She still couldn’t believe what she had found. A room with doors that led throughout the school, it didn’t seem possible. They were probably magic doors, based on the school’s layout and formation of the doors inside.

It also seemed like the twins weren’t going to be able to use them freely, not with Viney guarding them. Not that Emira would let that stop her, she would find a way.

Viney had been so intriguing. Emira had class with her a few times a week, but they hadn’t spoken before. It was interesting how she was in two tracks and how she had access to the secret passages in the first place. Emira couldn’t help but be curious about her. She wondered how hard it would be to earn her approval, especially starting off with the first impression she just made.

“Did you find anything?” Ed’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“I sure did.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a better summary and updated it. Onward we go to the next chapter. Bring some cold water, Emira is going to need it.

The next day at school, Emira had a chance to make up for that terrible first impression. Though it was less of a chance and more of a carefully orchestrated encounter. A little pressure applied to the right student earned her the location of Viney’s locker, where she waited after school to talk to the other teen.

She got a few strange looks from other students, leaning against a locker on the other side of school from her own, but they were easily deterred with a flash of a smile. She didn’t have to wait for long.

Viney appeared with her arms full of textbooks. She hesitated mid step when her eyes landed on Emira at her locker, but only for a moment. She then continued to walk as if it hadn’t happened, brushing past Emira without a word to tickle her locker open.

“Hi, uh.” Emira hadn’t expected to be ignored like that, especially after what happened last night. “I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday, so I wanted to apologize and introduce myself.” She paused to give Viney a chance to respond, which the other teen did not take. She was putting her books in her locker, not even looking at Emira. “I’m Emira Blight, you’re Viney, right?” She already knew her name of course, but it was polite to ask.

“Yes, and I already knew that.” Viney replied curtly, putting the last of her books into the locker. From this close, her hair looked even messier than the night before. It had some kind of strange spiked headband keeping it up in a loose bun, but just barely. Emira wondered how it would look down, how long it could be, how it would feel if she touched it. Wait, this was not the time to be thinking about that.

Emira mentally refocused and put on her best fake smile, undeterred. “I’m sorry about yesterday, I wasn’t trying to start trouble.” Viney turned to walk away, so Emira quickly stepped around her to prevent that. Being half a foot taller than her helped with stopping her, but this was not going as planned. “In fact, I adore what you’ve done with your uniform. I’d love to see how you made it, maybe after school tomorrow?”

Viney had been about to shoulder her way around Emira, but at this she paused and looked at her for the first time. “I have plans,” She said, her narrowed green eyes smoldering. She lifted one hand to point at Emira. “I don’t spend my time with fake, lazy, entitled children. You may be a Blight, but I’m no doormat.”

As it turned out, Viney hadn’t been lying about knowing who Emira was. She clearly had some ideas about her that far predated their encounter yesterday. Bad ideas.

Emira maintained eye contact, though now she was seeing red, and took a long slow inhale. Then a long exhale. It didn’t help calm her. She kept her hands at her sides, though they were slowly clenching into fists. The only thought running through her mind, loudly and clearly, was that anybody who thought this girl was a doormat was severely mistaken. Her other thoughts were more muddled, stuck on what had just been said.

Another student, one who was probably eavesdropping as they passed by, had stopped dead in the middle of the hallway to gape openly at them. There were others watching, waiting. The hallways were never this quiet.

Emira wanted to spit an insult back, or maybe just cuss her out, but she couldn’t. Not with this many witches around. Not when word of a fight would certainly get back to her parents.

This time when Viney brushed past her, Emira didn’t stop her. Her mind was still reeling, turning those words over in her mind. Fake, lazy, entitled. She hadn’t expected a warm reception, but still, this was surprisingly cold. Somehow, her second impression had gone worse than the first. She hadn’t thought that possible, but here she was.

Emira felt a pain in her palms, then looked down and realized she had been clenching her fists way too hard. When she unclenched them, stretching out her fingers, she saw little red crescents where her nails had dug into her skin.

The sight brought her temper down, if only slightly. She needed to get back to her locker, away from the curious eyes that saw the exchange.

Emira left the scene at a brisk pace, putting distance between herself and Viney’s locker. She strode to the other side of the school, to where her own locker was. She managed to cool her head slightly during the walk.

Ed’s locker was right next to hers, so of course he was already there when she arrived. He had finished putting his books away and seemed to be waiting for Emira to return.

“Wow, you look awful.” He commented as she approached, a playful smirk on his face.

She probably did, but still Emira rolled her eyes. “Well we are twins.” She was not in the mood for banter.

“Ouch.” Ed put one hand over his heart in feigned pain. “I’m wounded.” The grin on his face said otherwise.

“Good.” Emira poked her locker to open it, wanting to retrieve her school bag. It opened slowly, not as fast as when she tickled it.

“I take it your talk with the ‘corridor witch’ didn’t go well?” Ed made air quotations with his fingers around the words ‘corridor witch’.

Emira couldn’t help it, her fist just clenched itself again. “That’s an understatement.” She scoffed. “She hates me. Called me lazy and entitled.” Emira forced her hand to relax, though she could also feel tension building in her shoulders and neck that would be harder to get rid of.

“Impressive, to earn that level of animosity after just one meeting.” Ed leaned back against the lockers, crossing his arms casually. “You must teach me your ways.” He said in a light tone.

“This is serious.” Emira took her bag out and let the locker close. “She probably hates you too.” She said with a nod.

Ed shrugged. “Why do you care what she thinks? We should just sneak past her, it’ll be easy.” He was right, it probably would be easy. Viney had healing and beast keeping magic, so she would almost certainly be unable to detect their illusion magic. There was a problem though, it wouldn’t feel right to do it that way.

Emira shook her head. “No, I can’t now.” She frowned.

This time Ed rolled his eyes. “Why not?”

Emira thought about it for a moment. Something about being called lazy and entitled made her feel like she didn’t have a choice. Sneaking past her would just be taking a shortcut that would prove to Viney every negative untrue thing she thought about Emira. “It’s a matter of principle.”

“Ugh, you’re turning into Mittens.” Ed stood up straight, brushing the back of his shirt off.

“That’s not a terrible thing.” Emira started walking towards the front of the school, with Edric moving beside her. “Mittens is very well behaved.”

Ed shrugged again, choosing not to comment.

“Oh, I have an idea.” His eyes lit up as he turned to walk sideways while he spoke. “I could seduce the corridor girl.”

The very thought of that made Emira’s stomach flip. “Edric don’t you dare.” She imagined Ed with Viney for just a moment and shuddered. What an unpleasant thought.

Ed quickly shifted to pouting. “Aww, I thought it was a good idea.” He pushed his lower lip out to try and gain sympathy. That wouldn’t work on Emira.

“I’ll just befriend her, how hard can it be?” Emira asked, knowing that the answer was probably ‘very hard’.

Ed took a long pause before answering. “We’re never getting into those passages.” He shook his head as he spoke.

In her mind, Emira couldn’t help but agree with him. The odds of getting Viney’s permission was pretty slim, but dangit Emira was no lazy entitled child! Maybe she was a bit fake sometimes, she even demonstrated that today, but still, having someone think so badly of her was awful for her reputation. She wasn’t even sure why Viney thought those things about her in the first place. It wasn’t like they had met before yesterday.

Emira couldn’t let it go.

Even if they never got access to the secret passages, she wanted to do this.

The twins walked past Viney on their way out of school. She was heading the opposite direction, going farther into the school rather than leaving like the other students.

Emira made a mental note of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters that are mostly dialogue are suffering for me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is a bit longer than the previous ones. This is what happens when I write from an outline that is structured by chapter.

One week later, on an afternoon where the twins didn’t have to run errands for their mother after school, Emira made her next move.

She realized, after the disastrous last encounter, that she was going about this all wrong. Though it seemed Viney knew some things about her, she didn’t know very much about Viney. This led to the ‘approach her at her locker and try to compliment her’ strategy, which had majorly backfired.

If Emira was going to do this, she needed to learn more about her target. She couldn’t just ask; their previous conversation had proved that. The next best option, Emira figured, was to learn through observation instead.

When she told Ed about her plan, he said it sounded incredibly boring and that he wanted no part of it. That was fine, it would be easier to pull off alone anyway.

That was how Emira found herself, once again, walking to the side of school where Viney’s locker was. She had put all of her books and bag in her locker so she could go empty handed. It would make the magic she prepared easier to maintain.

On her first pass of Viney’s locker, Emira checked to see if the other teen was there. Predictably, since school had only been out for a few minutes, she wasn’t yet. Emira kept walking past the locker, moving with the flow of students.

She went around the corner, and then to the nearby bathroom. It was small, only with a few stalls and not a lot of foot traffic. That was ideal for Emira’s next step. When she arrived, there were a couple other girls inside. They were washing their hands and gossiping about some boy, so Emira pretended to fix her hair in the mirror while she waited for them to leave.

Once they had left, with the door fully shut behind them, Emira could begin. She drew a magic circle in the air, casting an illusion spell that would make her invisible. She could tell that it worked, since her form disappeared in the mirror.

Emira drew a second circle, layering in another spell. It was to hide her shadow. She figured out which spell worked best through many times of getting spotted. Even though the shadow while invisible was hard to see, she’d been caught before by those observant enough to notice it. With this second spell, it went from looking like a heat wave on the ground to being completely invisible.

Later, Emira would need to layer on a footstep deafening spell too. When there were less students around, she would be easy to hear. However, it drained her magic quickly to hold so many active spells at once. She would wait to add the third until she absolutely needed it.

A minute later, a teen girl opened the bathroom door to enter. Emira took her chance to leave, slipping back out into the hallway. She had to be extra careful while invisible not to make doors open by themselves and not to bump into other students. If her cover was blown, she would have to reapply the magic.

Emira walked slowly back towards Viney’s locker, thankful that the crowd had thinned some. She was able to reach it without incident, picking a spot at the end of the lockers to stand and wait for Viney to arrive. Her timing was good, as the other teen soon appeared.

Viney stopped at her locker and tickled it, the same way she had a week before. She put her books away and got her bag, completely unaware that Emira was watching her, then closed her locker and walked away.

This time, Emira followed. She skirted around a couple witches standing together to tail Viney through the school. They didn’t go far before Viney stopped at another set of lockers. She started talking to a couple witches, a guy Emira didn’t know and a dog in the school uniform. They both wore two colors on their sleeves and legs, so they must’ve been the other multi track students. Viney was smiling as she talked to them. It was a new look, one Emira hadn’t seen before.

Emira couldn’t hear what they were saying from where she initially stopped, so she inched closer to try and listen.

She managed to hear what the guy was saying mid sentence. “...going to the market to look at plant seeds. You in?” He was asking the question to Viney, with an expectant look on his face.

Viney shook her head, shifting her bag on her shoulder. “I’d love to, but not today. I finally got access to the book I need for the new spell.” Interesting, so she was trying to learn a new spell. That was something to remember.

The dog barked once in response, though Emira wasn’t sure what it was trying to say. She could barely understand dog language when she could hear it properly.

“It’s been tough so far.” Viney seemed to have understood what it said. “I’ll figure it out, I just have to keep looking.”

“Let us know when you do.” The guy waved in farewell. “See you tomorrow.” He turned to leave as the dog barked again and Viney said goodbye to the pair.

The two walked towards the exit of the school, while Viney turned around to go back the way she came from. Unfortunately for Emira, she was standing in that path.

Emira wished she had cast that sound deafening spell as she lurched out of the way, just barely avoiding Viney bumping right into her.

Even though they didn’t touch, Viney stopped for a moment. She looked around, even looking right through Emira. She must’ve felt the draft from Emira moving or heard her footsteps. Emira held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

“Must’ve imagined it…” Viney muttered to herself after a moment, before continuing to walk. Emira resisted the urge to sigh in relief and then kept a healthy distance as she followed her further into the school.

They walked until they reached one of the healing track classrooms, one Emira had never been in. Viney opened the door and went inside, pulling it shut behind her. This was a problem, since it meant Emira couldn’t get it. Not without making it look like a ghost opened the door.

There was a small window in the door, but when Emira peered inside she couldn’t see Viney from it.

Luckily, someone else was about to exit the room. One of the healing track teachers, who probably taught in this classroom, approached the door to leave shortly after Viney went in. This gave Emira her chance. As he left, she was able to squeeze into the room. It wasn’t as discreet as she wanted to be, but she didn’t risk bumping into Viney.

Once inside, she glanced around the room. It looked to be a normal classroom, with a decent sized bookshelf on one wall. Viney was sitting at one of the tables, with two books and a notebook open in front of her. She had a pen in one hand and was writing something down on the notebook. Then she went back to the books, going back and forth between them. It looked like she was studying something, or maybe translating, it was hard to tell.

Emira wanted to get closer to see what it was, but that was pretty risky. It would be safer to keep her distance. She found a spot of wall that had a chair against it and sat down, waiting to see if Viney would do anything interesting.

Unfortunately, the next hour would be more of the same. Viney would read the books, then write in her notebook, then go back to reading. Every once in a while she would smile, as if she had discovered something. Emira wondered what she was thinking, what she was reading about that was so interesting.

After a while Emira zoned out, staring off into the distance instead. She just had to focus enough to keep the magic spells up.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when someone knocked at the classroom door, drawing both Emira’s and Viney’s attention.

“We’re locking up.” The school janitor called from the door. He had a huge ring of keys in his hands, likely the ones to all of the rooms in the building. It was tempting to try and steal them while she was invisible, but Emira had to keep her priorities straight.

He was holding the door open, so Emira was able to slip out while Viney packed up her things. She left the two books on the bookshelf, but took the notebook with her.

“Thank you for letting me stay after school.” Viney said to the janitor as she left the room, with him shutting the door behind her.

“You’re very welcome.” He replied as he locked the door. “You get home safe now.”

“I will.” Viney said with a nod, then bid him farewell and started to walk away. Once again, Emira followed. She walked with light steps, keeping her distance. They were going back towards the lockers, though the hallways were empty now.

Viney stopped at her locker and opened it, grabbing an additional book that she must’ve forgotten. Emira wasn’t sure why she had to come back for it. She had just closed the locker when a female voice echoed through the hallway.

“Look who it is, the multi track disaster.” Two girls had appeared at the end of the hallway, both wearing the orange of beast keeping. They strode towards Viney, giggling as they reached her. “What’re you doing here so late?” The first one, who seemed to be the leader, asked. Her tone implied that she didn’t actually care what the answer was.

Viney frowned as she replied to them. “Just studying, how about you?” She was still being civil, far more civil than she had been to Emira before.

“It won’t be enough.” The teen blew off answering Viney’s question, instead crossing her arms and stepping closer. “You’ll never catch up.”

“Excuse me?” Viney asked with a furrowed brow, as if she couldn’t believe what she just said. Emira was in a similar state, astonished that this was happening right in front of her. She never could’ve imagined that Viney was picked on.

“You’ve fallen way too far behind.” The second beast keeping girl chimed in. “Especially with two tracks, if you don’t focus you’ll only ever fail.” She sneered.

“With such an awful beast keeper,” The first teen uncrossed her arms and looked down at her fingernails as she spoke. “No wonder Puddles is so pathetic.”

Immediately Viney’s expression changed. What had been mild irritation became full on anger, eyes blazing and hands coming up in fists. “You want to say that again?” Viney said slowly, in a low threatening tone. Puddles, whoever or whatever that was, seemed to be dear to her.

Emira realized that she needed to act quickly and diffuse this situation. This could go very badly very fast, especially if they kept antagonizing Viney. Not only that, but she couldn’t let someone she was trying to be friends with get bullied. Emira stepped quickly behind a row of lockers. She would be barely visible from there.

Then, she dispelled both invisibility spells. She would need all of her magic to handle this. Emira spun her finger in a circle, casting a brand new illusion spell.

“You know what I said.” The first beast keeper wasn’t backing down.

Emira made her move.

“Is there a problem here?” A perfect replica of Principal Bump walked around the corner, coming from the direction of his office. Immediately, the two beast keeper girls exchanged a glance and backed off. Viney didn’t react to his appearance.

“Of course not Sir” The first beast keeper girl replied, lying through her teeth.

“Good.” Principal Bump looked between the three students. “You should all be heading home; the school is closed at this hour.”

“We were just leaving.” The two girls walked past him quickly, not looking back as they left the scene. If they had, they would’ve seen Emira behind the locker. Viney didn’t move, just stood there with her fists still clenched.

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” She said, eyes turned towards the ground.

“Don’t worry about it.” Emira decided to speak with her own voice, stepping out from the locker. As she did, she spun her finger to dispel the illusion. Principal Bump sunk into the floor, disappearing with a flash of light. “They started it anyway.”

“Oh, it’s you.” Viney relaxed her hands, tone falling flat. “I didn’t need your help.” She was frowning.

“I know.” If there was one thing Emira had learned about Viney, it was that. “But I can’t just stand by while someone gets bullied.”

Viney’s expression softened slightly, a flicker of emotion crossing her face. “Thanks.” She sounded like she meant it. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder again, something Emira had seen her do many times that day, and said she had to get going.

Emira bid her farewell and watched her go, making note that she was not headed towards the front of the school, but instead in the direction of the detention track room. Most likely, Viney was going to continue studying in the secret passage room.

Emira let her go, she had seen enough today.

It was time to go home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is cliché, but that’s fine it isn’t going to stop me.

The next day, Emira was sitting in class wondering what her next steps should be. She was currently in the only class she shared with Viney, history of covens, which was what prompted the line of thought.

Ed was in this class too, but he sat on the opposite end of the room from Emira. They had been separated as a form of ‘trouble prevention,’ or at least, that’s what the teacher told them. Enchanting the chalk to write on the board whenever she turned her back had been the last straw.

Right now, the teacher was reviewing a concept they studied the previous week, going on about the accomplishments of the first head of the illusion coven. Emira already knew all of it by heart.

Though Emira looked like she was paying attention, her mind was actually focused on another student in the class. One who sat a couple rows ahead of her, a student who studied two tracks named Viney.

For every new thing Emira had learned about Viney while tailing her, she had two new questions to go along with it. It was somehow both intriguing and frustrating.

She learned that Viney was trying to learn a new spell and was studying for it in the healing track classroom after school. Emira wondered what kind of spell it was, what Viney was trying to accomplish, and what she was trying to find in those dusty old books.

She had also learned that Viney was friends with the other multi track students, which really wasn’t a surprise, and had enemies within the beast keeping track. She valued someone or something called Puddles. Emira had no idea what that was, perhaps a beast? That would make sense, since she was in the beast keeping track.

Lastly, she had softened slightly when Emira helped her. It didn’t change much, but it was a step in the right direction. Emira wondered what was going through her mind at that moment; she was hard to read.

All of these left Emira wondering and thinking, curious to learn more but unsure of what she should do. She absolutely didn’t want to worsen their relationship, especially because things were getting interesting.

“You’ll be working in pairs for the rest of class.” The teacher, a brunette witch in her 40’s, said from the front of the class. Emira tuned in, noticing that the topic had changed. “Your partner will be assigned after I give the instructions.” That meant Emira wasn’t going to be able to work with Ed. “You’ll be creating a small poster for one of initial coven leaders. You will need to include a drawing that is by hand or made with magic, information about their origin, why they were chosen to lead their coven, and what they achieved as head of the coven. As for which coven leader you pick, you and your partner get to choose.”

It sounded like an easy assignment, though that didn’t mean Emira wanted to do it. “But there’s a catch. You cannot choose a coven leader who matches your or your partner’s tracks. That means you will have to pick one from a coven that is different than yours.” That made it harder for Emira, but just slightly. She knew a little about the other coven leaders. “The pairs list will be on the board, along with a copy of the directions.”

The teacher cast a spell, projecting a large image onto the chalkboard. A list of assignment criteria was on the left side, with a list of student pairs on the right.

“Find your partner on the list, then move to sit together and start working. I’ll be walking around if you have any questions.” The teacher finished, moving to the side of the board so the students could read it.

Emira squinted up at it, looking for her name on the right side. She made it mid-way down the board before she found it, a grin creeping onto her face when she saw who she was assigned with.

Today was her lucky day.

For the assignment, she was paired with Viney. What an amazing turn of fate.

Viney was still facing forward in her seat, so Emira couldn’t see her reaction to the news. She didn’t look like she was going to move, so Emira got up to go to her.

She took her books and bag, since they were going to spend the rest of class on this, and walked between the tables to reach Viney. The student next to her had moved to find their partner, so Emira was able to sit down next to her without a hassle. Viney had taken out a blank piece of paper and opened her notes. She didn’t react to Emira’s arrival.

Emira cleared her throat, trying not to make things awkward. “Hey, I guess we’re partners.” She smiled, hoping for a better reaction than their prior encounters.

Viney turned her head towards Emira slightly and nodded. “Yes, we are.” She then looked back at her notebook, flipping through a few of the pages. She was being polite today, so she must’ve been okay with being assigned together. She didn’t bring up what happened the day before. “I was thinking of doing the oracle coven, any objections?”

Emira had no problem with that, her mother was actually in that coven, and even if she had she would’ve kept it to herself. “None.” She took out her textbook and opened to the table of contents. There she found the chapter about the oracle coven and flipped to the correct pages.

When she looked back over, Viney had written the name of the first oracle head at the center of the top of the blank piece of paper. This would probably be their poster. She had started drawing a few lines across it, two long ways and one near the bottom horizontally. For someone with tears and pins holding their clothes together, she seemed quite organized.

“Can you draw?” Viney asked, not looking up from her work.

As much as Emira wanted to say she could, that would be a lie. “Oh, very badly.” Emira replied with a chuckle.

This drew a hint of a smile to Viney’s lips. Though Emira could only see her face from the side, it looked good on her. Viney paused for a moment as if considering her words carefully. “I bet I’m worse.” She finally said when she finished the drawing the final line.

Emira sincerely doubted that, but wasn’t prepared to get into an art contest. “We’ll do the picture with magic then.” Emira flipped through a few pages of the book, stopping on a page with a photo of the leader when he was chosen.

“An illusion spell that can do that?” Viney turned her head fully to look at Emira, brow furrowed as she asked the question.

“It’s not the standard use for it.” Emira admitted, reaching for the nearly blank poster. “I discovered it when trying to make a copy of something. Let me show you.” Emira didn’t add that what she was trying to duplicate was Ed’s homework so that she could have a copy. Viney pushed the paper towards Emira, a clear invitation to continue. “The picture should go in the center, right?” Emira asked. She guessed that based on the grid formation.

Viney nodded, looking slightly surprised. “Yeah, that’s correct.”

Emira picked up the paper, standing to hold it over the book. She had to hold it above the image at the right distance, so the picture would fit into the center box of the grid. Then she drew the spell circle with one hand, which created a beam of light from the paper to the page. Emira glanced over and spotted Viney watching with wide eyes. The paper glowed for a moment, then slowly returned to normal.

When the light faded, the picture from the book was visible on the paper. It was inside the center box and below the title, exactly where it was supposed to be. Emira sat back down and handed it to Viney, who brought it close to her face and examined it closely.

“Impressive.” She finally said, putting the paper down on the table. “Didn’t think it could be done.” There was that blunt honesty again, that Emira had experienced from her before.

“I’m full of surprises.” Emira smiled and winked, keeping her tone light.

A slight pink dusted Viney’s cheeks. “I can see that.” She muttered, almost too quiet for Emira to hear, then cleared her throat. “I’ll start on his origins, if you want to look for the reasons he was chosen to lead the coven.”

If she could choose, Emira would pick none of them. She should probably pull her weight here though. “I’ll get right on that.” She went to the next section of the book to start looking for that information.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emira could see Viney working on the poster. She was using her notes for information, which meant she already had enough information about this topic to not need the book. Her mouth was set in a neutral line as she worked, focused on the task in front of her. Emira knew Viney spent time studying on her own, but was still surprised at how studious the other teen was.

When Viney glanced her way, probably feeling Emira’s eyes on her, Emira quickly looked back at her book. It was time to actually do some work, so she would have something to write on the paper when Viney finished her part.

For the next fifteen minutes they worked on the assignment. Viney finished the first section, then Emira added text to the next. She didn’t have as much to write, but she was able to do her part. Viney took it back for the third, about what the oracle leader achieved as part of the coven, which was fine with Emira.

When class ended they turned the assignment in, with Viney walking away after before Emira could think to say goodbye.

Emira packed up her bag to leave, already back to thinking about the other student.

Somehow, after having a civil normal interaction, she was more curious than before. What was Viney’s deal? Why couldn’t Emira stop thinking about her, the way she stood her ground, the way her handwriting curved down on the poster without lines to contain it, the way she focused so intently on her work, or the way she looked when she smiled.

This wasn’t just about the secret passages anymore, Emira was fully invested.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another dialogue heavy one someone please save me from my own bad decisions.

“You’re really going to pass up this opportunity to mess with grudgby fans?” Ed asked, his arms crossed over his chest. He was standing with Emira in the front hallway of the school and was questioning her planned activities for the afternoon. “It’s gonna be fuuun.” He extended the vowel in fun for emphasis, pitching his voice up in the second half. There was an away game for grudgby that afternoon, which provided the perfect opportunity to prank fans of the opposing team.

“Not today.” Emira shook her head. “I have plans at school.” She didn’t bother to explain why, since it didn’t matter and wouldn’t sway Ed. “You have fun though, I’ll meet you home later.”

Ed was pouting, but he knew when it was time to give up. “Fine, later then.” He gave a half-hearted wave, then walked towards the front doors of the school.

Emira turned the other way, not bothering to watch him go, to go deeper into the building. She had a plan today.

It had been a week since she worked with Viney on the class assignment. They hadn’t talked since, but Emira waved and smiled at her once and got a rather unenthusiastic wave back in return. That was progress.

Today she was going to try and speak with her again, and hopefully get some answers to the questions she’d been pondering for the last week.

Viney had stayed after school every day for the last week and studied in the healing track classroom, which Emira found out by eavesdropping on the other multi track students. Emira had no reason to believe today would be any different. She had brought a couple textbooks in her bag, as well as a novel, in case she needed them. The plan was to ask Viney to study with her. There was about a 25% chance of success, but Emira was willing to take those odds.

When Emira reached the healing track room, she looked in the window to see if she could spot Viney. Unfortunately, she couldn’t. She had to open the door to find out.

She put on her best smile and entered the room. As expected, Viney was sitting at one of the tables with what looked like the same two books from the week before. She looked up at the sound of the door opening, green eyes widening slightly with surprise when they landed on Emira.

“Mind if I join you?” Emira asked as she shut the door behind her.

Viney raised one eyebrow in response. “Really?” She asked, clearly doubting Emira’s intentions.

“Yeah,” Emira walked over to the table, with Viney’s gaze not leaving her for a second. “I thought we could study together. We have that test coming up in history after all.” She patted her bag twice, as if expressing interest in the books within.

Viney shook her head with a frown. “I’m working on something else.” She said simply, a deflection that didn’t give any details away. She was quite skilled.

“Can I at least stay?” Emira changed her strategy, trying to improvise. “Most of the school is already closed, so there isn’t anywhere else to study.” That was only partly true, and Viney probably knew it too.

Viney thought about it for a moment, before sighing. “I guess you can stay.”

“Thanks!” Emira quickly sat in one of the chairs next to Viney before she could change her mind. She put her bag on the table and unzipped it to take out her books.

Viney wasn’t done, and she continued in a firm tone. “But we’re just studying near each other, not together.”

Emira couldn’t resist the urge to ask. “What’s the difference?” It didn’t really matter to her.

The frown and narrowed eyes on Viney’s face said ‘because I don’t like you,’ but when she spoke she said, “A matter of principle.” That wasn’t nearly as bad as Emira expected.

“Fair enough.” Emira took out her history book, placing it on the table and opening it. Viney seemed to have accepted that this was how it was going to be. She sighed again and turned back to her work, reading from the same two books and writing in her notebook.

Though Emira opened her book to the chapter on the construction coven, she wasn’t quite focused on reading. Instead, she was watching what Viney was doing out of the corner of her eye. Now that she was close, she could see that one of the books was written in runes unfamiliar to her, while the other seemed to be a dictionary of some kind. It looked like Viney was translating the first book, though towards what end Emira wasn’t sure.

Every once in a while she fidgeted with her earring, perhaps when stuck on a word.

It wasn’t exciting to watch and if Emira kept doing it she would be caught, so Emira actually read a bit of her textbook. It was a dull and dreary task; this was why she didn’t usually study.

Her whole body stiffened in surprise when Viney spoke to her.

“What’s your deal, anyway?” Viney had put her pen down and was looking right at Emira, hands held together on the table.

“What do you mean?” Emira asked for clarification as she turned towards Viney, to better look in her direction. She tried to relax a little, to not seem like she’d just been startled.

“I mean, what are you doing here trying to study with me?” This girl did not beat around the bush. Her forwardness was impressive.

“Can’t a girl just want to study?” Emira asked with a coy smile.

Viney scoffed at that. “No offense, but I don’t think you do.” That would’ve hurt if it hadn’t been true.

Emira could’ve tried to deflect again, but decided to go with a more honest response. “Well, last week you really knew your stuff.” She had been quite impressed with Viney’s notes and organization when they worked together in class, it was true. “And I wanted to work with you again.” It wasn't the entire truth, but it wasn't a lie either.

“Oh…” Viney looked back at her books, hands fidgeting together “I see…” She spoke quieter than before, voice trailing off. She seemed lost in thought, distracted from the conversation.

“It's fine that you're busy though. I'm curious, what are you working on?” Emira changed the topic, drawing Viney’s attention back to her. “I haven’t seen books like these before.”

Viney sat up a bit straighter in her chair, eyes lighting up at the question. “I’m trying to teach Puddles how to heal.” She was smiling and had brought her hands apart to move them as she spoke. “If she could do that, then we could tend to twice as many patients at once.”

“Puddles is a beast?” Emira asked, still not sure who or what Puddles was.

“A griffin.” Viney grinned.

Ooh, those were rare and hard to tame. But also, Emira was pretty sure they couldn’t heal. “How will she heal?”

Viney nodded, as if she expected the question. “That’s what I’ve been researching.” She said. “This book is about ancient methods of healing magic.” She gestured at the one that was in another language. “It’s very old and rare, so I’m only allowed to study it in this room. I’ve been translating it here and taking the notes home with me.” So that was what Emira had watched her do last week.

“Are you close to figuring out the spell?” Now Emira was curious about how it could be done.

Viney shook her head, shifting to a frown. “No, not yet. It’s far more complicated than I thought it would be. I’ll probably have to layer different types of magic to make it work.” Emira knew a few layered spells like that herself, but they only used illusion magic.

“I’ve never even thought about mixing magic like that.” Emira admitted, wondering what illusion magic could be mixed with. “It seems versatile.”

“You should try it.” Viney turned her chair slightly to better face Emira. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels like the possibilities are endless. I never realized how shackled I was before, when I was just in one track, but now it’s like a weight has lifted.” As Viney spoke, Emira couldn’t look away. She spoke with fire in her eyes; it was mesmerizing. “With the right combination of spells, I can do anything.”

“Like teach a griffin to heal.”

“Yes, exactly.” Viney smiled broadly, which was dazzling in its own way.

Emira was about to respond when they were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the janitor, the same one who Emira had seen the week before.

“Sorry, we’re locking up early today.” He said from the door. “Everybody’s at the grudgby match.”

“Oh, I’ll pack up.” Viney stood and closed her books quickly, stowing them on the shelf. Emira followed suit, stowing her book in her bag.

She cursed her ever changing luck as they left the room, with the janitor locking the door shut behind them. He then walked away, leaving them there.

For a moment they stood in the hallway, neither saying anything. Emira broke the silence.

“I’m headed out, you coming?” Emira asked, trying to salvage the situation and their conversation.

“You go ahead.” Viney took a step back, away from her. “I still have some things to do.”

“Alright.” Emira knew what that meant, she was going to the secret passages. It wasn’t surprising to not be invited. “See you around then.”

Viney was almost smiling as she replied, “Yeah, see you around.” She gave a small half wave, then turned to walk away.

Emira watched her go for a moment, then did the same. She left the school and, seeing that the last transport to grudgby was long gone, started to walk towards home.

That could’ve gone way worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are going to be a bit slower from now on. I’ve overcommitted with this fic, but I still plan to finish it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me being that person who says updates will be slower, then updates on the same schedule as usual…

It was a mild Sunday morning, the perfect weather to be outdoors. The sun was shining and there were currently no disasters plaguing the Boiling Isles.

Emira was with Ed at the market, which was extra busy on Sundays. They weren’t shopping with the rest of the witches though. That wouldn’t be fun at all.

Instead, the twins could be found up on top of one of the market stalls. It was one of the sturdier ones, one that they were sure would hold their weight before climbing on top of it. They were lying on their stomachs so that the many witches who walked past wouldn’t spot them, heads close to the front edge of the stand.

Ed had a jar in his hands, full of a gooey green goo. He unscrewed the lid and held it out carefully towards Emira. She was wearing rubber gloves, which were necessary for handling the goop. She reached inside and used three fingers to scoop out a small blob of the goo, careful not to let it slip from her grasp. Ed had made it himself, so she didn’t want to waste a drop.

Emira rolled it between her fingers for a moment, making sure it was a good size and sticking together. Then she nodded at Ed and turned her eyes down, looking for the next target.

It had to be someone who stopped, to maximize the effect. Emira waited until, yes right there, a teenage boy stopped to look at the goods for sale in the stall. Emira glanced at Ed, who nodded with a smirk.

She reached over the edge with her gloved hand, fist closed to hold the goo. It didn’t have to be directly over the victim’s head, but closer would have stronger effects. Emira used her other hand to signal to Ed, counting up to three on her fingers to time the drop.

On three, she released the goo. Right as it started to fall, Ed draw a small spell circle. The goo glowed as it fell, the magic reaching towards the victim. By the time it hit the ground, the effect had taken place.

The victim, who had brown hair at the start, was now sporting a bright ocean blue color. He didn’t seem to notice, as he continued browsing without alarm before moving on from the stall.

After he walked away, the twins broke out laughing in unison. The effect of the spell would only last an hour, but that didn’t make it any less hilarious.

When she finally stopped laughing, Emira sat up and looked out again over the moving crowds. The market was always so busy on Sunday mornings, which made it perfect for the twins to have some fun.

“Oh, isn’t that the corridor girl?” Ed sat up as well, drawing Emira to look in the direction of his pointed finger.

He was right, Viney was on the other side of the market, buying something from a different stall. She was too far away to see in detail, but even from this distance Emira could tell who she was. There was no mistaking that hook shaped earring.

“Yeah, that’s her.” Emira replied, squinting to try and see her clearer.

“I know you’ve been hanging out with her, since you never shut up about it...” Ed muttered the last part under his breath. “Can we use the secret passages yet?” Ed asked eagerly.

Emira hadn’t thought about the passages for a while. In fact, they didn’t even cross her mind when she tried to study with Viney earlier that week. “Not yet.” She replied, shifting Ed’s face from a smirk to a frown.

“Could you hurry it up? At this rate we’ll graduate before we get to use them.” Ed said pointedly.

Emira rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah yeah, I know.”

Ed nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer, then leaned forward again to look down over the edge of the stall.

Though her brother had gone back to looking for slime targets, Emira was still watching Viney in the distance. She had bought something and then continued moving through the market, stopping every once in a while to look at goods.

Emira wondered what she had come there to buy, if she had found what she was looking for.

“Hey, get over here!” Ed interrupted her thoughts, one of his hands now gloved and already outstretched over the edge. He must’ve needed Emira to cast the spell.

“I’m here.” Emira said as she leaned forward, ready to contribute. He dropped the goo and she cast the spell, successfully re-coloring another target.

“They never seem to look up.” Ed chortled.

Emira couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “They will if we stay in the same spot for too long.” She again backed away from the edge. “It’s time to move, we should say hi to Viney too.” Since she was here, they might as well.

“Do we have to?” Ed grumbled in protest.

Emira nodded. Ed hadn’t met her yet; it was about time. “Yes, let’s go.” She crawled towards the back of the stall, lowering herself over it to reach the ground. Ed groaned, but followed.

After a moment they had their feet on the ground. Emira brushed off her clothes to remove any dirt from lying on the stall.

“C’mon.” Emira gestured for Ed to follow her, then walked around the side of the stall to reach the main walkway of the market. She turned left, with Ed trailing close behind, and moved slowly past the other stalls. This was the direction she saw Viney in, so she was probably still close.

After a minute, she spotted her. Viney was admiring some flowers at a stand, scrutinizing them closely. She was dressed in casual clothes, similar in style to how she modified her school uniform. She wore her hair in the usual style, with the same headband and distinct earring. Emira quickly glanced away before Viney could notice her; she didn’t want to be caught staring.

Ed hadn’t seemed to notice her, as he was entranced by a food stand selling a variety of deep fried snacks. Emira tugged on his sleeve to get his attention, again moving in the direction where Viney was. Viney was carrying her purchase from earlier, something in a medium sized brown bag. Now she was smelling the flowers, smiling at them.

Emira almost felt bad about interrupting her. “Hey Viney!” She called out to her and waved as she approached.

Viney looked startled for a moment, but her stance relaxed when she looked over. “Hey.” She replied at a regular volume. “How’s it going?” She asked politely. Wow, it almost seemed like they were proper acquaintances now.

“Doing good, we’re just out shopping.” Emira gestured to Ed, who was standing behind her. “Didn’t expect to run into you here.” She commented, hoping that Viney hadn’t spotted the twins on top of the stall.

Viney let out a laugh. “Not much else to do on a Sunday morning. It’s better than being at home anyway.” Her tone changed mid-way, sounding wistful near the end, and Emira wondered what exactly she meant by that.

“It’s nice to get out of the house.” Emira agreed, keeping her statement more neutral instead of asking questions. “By the way, have you met my brother?” She gestured over her shoulder.

“I don’t think so.” Viney shook her head, looking up at Ed.

“This is Edric.” Emira reached back to tug on his arm again, bringing him forward. He was giving a fake smile and standing with his hands in his pockets.

“Hi, nice to finally meet you. My sister talks so much about you.” Was what he chose to say. Wait, what had he just said?

Viney’s cheeks flushed a cute shade of pink. “I-is that so?” She asked, a small smile on her lips. Emira could feel her own face turning a similar shade.

Ed’s eyes glinted as he leaned in. “Oh yes, you should hear wha-”

“Enough.” Emira cut him off, both verbally and with an arm in front of his body. “Sorry about that, he has no manners.” She glared at Ed, and he backed away with a smirk.

Viney didn’t seem bothered. “It’s alright.” She was still smiling, the color having faded from her cheeks.

“Do you have any siblings?” Emira asked, redirecting the topic and nudging Ed to move farther away so that he couldn’t interfere with the conversation.

“No,” Viney shook her head. “It’s just me and Puddles. I’ll have to introduce you sometime.”

Emira smiled, genuinely. “I’d like that.”

“We’ll do it somewhere less crowded.” Viney lifted one hand to gesture to the many witches around them.

“For sure.” Emira nodded. She could see to her side that Ed had moved too far away and was starting to wander back towards the fried food. “Ed’s getting away, so I better go. See you at school!”

“Bye.” Viney waved as Emira turned to leave.

Emira made sure to walk at a normal pace towards Ed, poking him hard on the arm when she reached him.

“Ow…” He complained, rubbing the spot. “What was that for?”

“Edric, you know exactly what it was for.” Emira spat back, continuing to walk past him.

Ed chuckled lowly as he followed. “You’ll thank me someday.”

Emira rolled her eyes, but didn’t respond.

As punishment, Ed didn’t get to have any deep fried snacks.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter, we cross the halfway point in this fic. I will be sticking to the initial intended length, which is 12 chapters and an epilogue. Thank you everyone who has been reading, leaving kudos, and commenting so far!

Emira only ate lunch in the school cafeteria a few days a week. Most days she preferred to spend her time wandering the halls, conspiring with Ed, or doing anything else besides socializing with her peers.

Today was different. Emira had just spent her morning wrangling some falsely animated brooms that tried to flood half the school with water. They were extremely persistent, and it took the help of the entire illusion track to finally destroy them. One almost escaped, but they managed to catch it. Emira could not remember working harder at anything in her life and was famished by the time lunch rolled around.

She was too hungry to do anything but sit and eat. So that’s what she did. Emira bought a fairly large sandwich and sat down at one of the tables to enjoy it. She chose a spot that was sparsely populated; since Ed wasn’t around there wasn’t anyone specific she wanted to sit with. He had vanished after they stopped the last broom, muttering to himself about tweaking the spell.

Emira put it out of her mind as she dug into her lunch. Some students were talking around her, but their voices blended together to form white noise. For a few minutes, she ate in relative quiet.

She had finished about half of her sandwich when that abruptly changed.

“Hey.” A familiar voice called from behind her, a female voice she hadn’t expected to hear. “Are you busy right now?”

When Emira turned to look over her shoulder, she saw that Viney was standing behind her. She looked tense, as if unsure of her words. Emira tried to turn her body more, so she could speak to Viney without straining her neck. She still held her sandwich, half eaten.

“Not really, I’m just eating lunch.” Emira raised her hands slightly for emphasis. “What’s going on?”

The corner of Viney’s lip rose in a hint of a smile. “I’d like to introduce you to Puddles.”

Considering what had happened the previous Sunday, Emira should’ve seen it coming. At least she didn’t have any food in her mouth to choke on in surprise. “Oh, right now?” She asked, realizing from how Viney’s jaw tightened at the question that it was a misstep.

“If you’re free.” Viney replied in a slightly lower tone, bringing the conversation back to where it started.

“I am.” Despite having only eaten half her lunch, Emira barely noticed the hunger anymore. She was too excited to finally meet Puddles the griffin. She quickly wrapped the rest of her sandwich in a couple napkins, then cast a spell to surround it in a bubble like layer of magic. That way she could put in her bag and finish it later. Once that was done, she stood and gathered her bag and tray. “Lead the way.”

Viney nodded, the smile having returned to her face, and walked towards the cafeteria exit with Emira close behind. They stopped at a bin to return her tray, then left the cafeteria.

“We’re headed to the grudgby field.” Viney said as they walked down the hallway, towards the back of the school.

That was a bit confusing. “Not the beast keeping building?” The beast keeping track had its own building out behind the school, since the beasts could be too large or hard to contain for a standard classroom. They had most of their lessons out there as well as areas to keep the beasts.

Viney shook her head, not looking back at Emira. “It’ll be easier at the field.”

It was tempting to dig for more details, but Emira knew that she shouldn’t. Instead she let the topic drop, following Viney out the back doors of the school and over to the grudgby field. The stands were empty, as expected during lunch. They were the only two students around.

They stopped at the outside of the field, out of the range of the random shifts the field could have. Viney moved a few steps away and turned back towards Emira, then lifted her hand to spin her finger in a magic circle. Immediately, Emira heard the caw of a griffin in the distance.

A few seconds later, the beast flew in. She had come from the direction of the beast house, which wasn’t far away. She had a grey and brown body with massive white wings and huge talons for claws. Emira could only stare at her bird like head as Puddles landed next to Viney who, in an astonishingly cute way, turned to coo compliments at her and pet her head. Puddles nuzzled into her hand like a dog, chirping a few times.

Viney then looked over at Emira, who still hadn’t moved. “This is Puddles.” She said, gesturing towards the griffin. “Puddles, this is Emira. We’re friends, so be nice to her.” Oh, she had called them friends. It warmed Emira’s heart to hear that. Puddles chirped as if it understood, at a different pitch than before. “Would you like to pet her?” Viney turned back to Emira and asked, and Emira’s warm heart was suddenly stone cold.

She was perfectly fine with looking at her, but no she did not want to pet the griffin. She and Ed had almost been eaten by a slitherbeast recently and Emira had no desire to repeat the experience. She liked having both of her hands attached to her arms thank you very much.

“I, uh, I’m not sure.” Emira managed to say, taking half a step back.

“She’s very friendly.” Viney insisted, walking towards Emira. Puddles followed her, of course she did. “And way softer than she looks.” She didn’t look soft at all.

“She doesn’t bite, does she?” Looking at that beak, the answer had to be yes.

Viney shook her head no. “She doesn’t.” She turned to Puddles and told her to sit, which she did, then closed the rest of the distance between herself and Emira. “How about we do it together? I promise, you’ll be safe.”

That was better, but only slightly. Emira took a deep breath. “Alright.” She conceded. It would probably be fine, especially with Viney being right there with her. She had just been petting her, so it should be safe. She kept telling herself that, to try and convince herself.

This drew a smile to Viney’s face. “Lift your right hand.” She said, moving to Emira’s right side. Emira followed the instruction, holding her right hand at chest height. “Keep a flat palm, fingers together. Go ahead and step closer.” As she said that, Viney stepped slightly ahead and placed her right hand against the back of Emira’s, likely to guide her. Her touch sent Emira’s already accelerated pulse through the roof.

Emira took a shuddering breath and followed the directions. She stepped even closer to the beast, with Viney’s hand following her own closely. When they were close enough to touch the beast, she stopped. Then she reached forward, guided by Viney, to gently pet the side of Puddles’ neck. The entire time Puddles didn’t move, she just sat waiting.

She was soft, Viney hadn’t been lying. Emira pet her again, still gently, and thought maybe Puddles wasn’t so scary after all. Or at least, wasn’t as scary to friends of Viney. The pair then stepped back, and Viney released Emira’s hand. Puddles watched them with large unreadable eyes.

“I think she likes you.” Viney said with a grin. Emira wasn’t sure where she got that information from, but was willing to accept it.

“Glad to hear it.” Emira replied as Puddles blinked at her.

“I’ve been working on that new spell with Puddles too, if you remember from before?” Viney asked, opening her bag to take out a notebook.

Of course Emira remembered. “The spell to help Puddles learn to heal, right?”

Viney nodded enthusiastically. “That’s the one. I’ve been working a lot on it. Here, let me show you what I’ve got so far.” Had she figured out the spell? That was quite impressive.

Emira watched closely as Viney examined her notes and then cast a spell circle that glowed bright white. She then cast a second spell that made one of Puddles’ talons glow the same color. When the glowing light faded, Viney gave the griffin a command.

“Puddles, heal.” She said, gesturing to her own unblemished arm. Puddles immediately took action, lifting the previously glowing claw to press it lightly against her arm. It flashed with light on contact, which likely would’ve healed a wound if one had been there. When the glowing faded, Puddles pulled away and put it’s claw back on the ground.

“That’s incredible.” Emira could barely believe what she was seeing. Sure, Viney had told her about it before, but seeing it in action was completely different. “You’re very talented.”

Viney shook head at this. “Not talent.” She replied bluntly. “Hard work.” She gave Puddles a hand signal, telling the beast to again sit on the ground. “Besides, it’s not even close to done yet.”

It certainly seemed complex, but it looked to have worked properly from what Emira could tell. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Just a few things.” Viney chuckled lowly. “I have to keep the magic open until healing activates, it only works for one charge, and it’s only half as effective as a regular healing spell.” She seemed to rethink what she was saying midway and changed tracks, looking away from Emira as she did. “It’ll get there, I just wanted to show you the progress I’ve made since we talked about it before.”

“Well, I’m impressed at your progress.” Emira replied, nodding at the pair.

“Thank you.” Viney looked back at Emira with a smile, this time accepting the complement instead of turning it down.

The two shared a few more words of small talk, before dismissing Puddles and heading back to the school. Lunch would soon be over, with classes resuming shortly.

In her classes later, Emira wondered if there was an illusion spell that could enhance the magic Viney performed. She had heard something about that before, illusion spells that could increase the potency of other magic, but couldn’t remember where she’d seen it.

This called for a trip to one of her least favorite places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got a little out of hand. Viney has a will of her own I swear.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if you noticed the Fantasia reference in the last chapter, but the magic brooms trying to flood the school was a reference to the Sorcerer's Apprentice released as part of Disney’s Fantasia in 1940. To understand what Emira was dealing with, watch the original here: https://video.disney.com/watch/sorcerer-s-apprentice-fantasia-4ea9ebc01a74ea59a5867853 Another great one is Rhapsody in Blue from Fantasia 2000. It’s fantastic.

Emira stood in front of her destination, scanning the windows and rooftop for any alternate entrances. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any. Perhaps she could avoid scrutiny if she snuck in, though that was a long shot. There were plenty of people inside who could notice her and kick her out, which they certainly would.

She’d been banned from the library for a good reason after all.

But now she really needed to go there. Watching Viney perform her new spell and been inspiring and Emira wanted to help her, but without doing some research it wouldn’t be possible.

She had no idea what kind of spell she could use to enhance the magic. Emira had asked the illusion track teacher what they thought about a spell that could be used to extend or enhance other spells, but they said there were so many that might or might not work for what Emira wanted and suggested that she do some research.

This left Emira with no choice, if she wanted to help then she would need to look in books. That meant the library.

The problem was, there was no way she’d be allowed inside. By her estimate, the odds of getting past the front desk were about 5 percent. She had known that before she walked all the way there, and she was willing to take those odds. Helping Viney with her spell was worth it.

Shaking her doubts away, Emira put on her best confident smile and walked up the stairs to the library entrance. She opened the door and went inside, closing it gently behind her. She held her head high, making sure not to look at the head librarian behind the counter, and walked past the front desk. Perhaps if she acted like she belonged he would just let her go. That was wishful thinking.

“Excuse me Ms. Blight.” The head librarian called to her in a stern tone, causing her to stop mid step. She turned her head to look at him. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” He said, gesturing to a small poster on the wall behind him with the Blight twins’ faces on it and the word banned written over them in red ink.

Emira made sure her smile didn’t slip as she turned and approached the counter. “Good afternoon.” She made a point of being polite, pretending she hadn’t just been trying to walk past without being noticed. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay and do some reading.”

“It isn’t.” The librarian replied bluntly, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“I need to do some research for a spell, and this is the best place in the Boiling Isles to do it.” Emira tried talking up the library a little, then switched her tactic. “I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise.”

The librarian’s firm expression slipped slightly, as if he were considering it. “Your brother isn’t here, is he?”

“No, he’s not.” Emira replied firmly. Ed always caused more trouble than her; it was a good decision not to bring him today.

The librarian thought about it for a moment, then sighed once. “Fine, but if you cause so much as a wink of trouble you’ll never set foot in this building again.” Phew, that was a relief. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he hadn’t let her in.

Now Emira was genuinely smiling. “Thank you so much!” She was about to walk away, but realized that she had only ever spent time playing pranks here, not actually reading books, so she had no idea where to even start looking. “Where can I find books on casting illusion magic?”

The librarian leaned forward to point at a set of stairs to the right. “Go up those stairs, then make a left and go straight until you reach the last row of bookshelves.”

Emira thanked him again, then went to do just that. She could feel his gaze on her back as she climbed the stairs and turned left. She walked that way until she reached the last set of shelves, then turned in to look for something she could use.

Just as the librarian said, the shelves were full of books about illusion magic. An overwhelming number of them, in fact. She skimmed the titles, taking a few that could be relevant. She stuck with broader topics to start. Quickly, her arms were full of books. Emira took her pile out of the row of bookshelves and over to a nearby table, where she sat down and got to work.

The first book was a general overview text of types of illusion magic. Emira thought it would be a good place to start, since she wasn’t really sure how to find the information she was looking for and this could give her some ideas. She opened to the table of contents, looking to see which type might fit best for enhancing the power of other spells. There was a chapter on layering illusions together, so Emira flipped to that page to start there.

She read through the pages, one by one, looking for any info that could help her. Reading this reminded her of how much she hated studying, but she was determined to stick with it.

Emira had only been reading for about ten minutes when someone approached her. She didn’t notice them until they spoke.

“Emira?” There was no mistaking the voice behind her; Mittens had found her. “What are you doing here?” She asked in a high tone, sounding like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Emira turned her head to look at her. Mittens was carrying her school bag and had a concerned look on her face. “Doing some research.” Emira answered the question honestly. She patted the chair next to her to invite Mittens to sit down.

“Really?” Mittens joined her at the table, putting her bag on the ground and sitting down in the chair. “That’s not like you.”

“I know, I’m not usually allowed in here.” Emira chuckled.

Mittens nodded, gesturing towards the front of the building. “That must be why the librarian told me to look out for trouble.”

“Good work catching me.” Emira winked, bringing a slight smile to Mittens face. “I really am here to look things up though.”

“What are you trying to find?” Mittens asked, shifting to a more serious expression.

Maybe Mittens could help her find the right books, or direct her to a different section of the library if she was looking in the wrong place. “One of my friends, Viney, she’s one of the multi track students if you remember, is working on developing a spell.” Emira had started speaking strong, but this was surprisingly embarrassing to talk about. She could feel her face warming as she continued. “I want to help her enhance it with illusion magic, so I’m researching what kind of spell might work.”

Mittens’ eyes were narrowed as she turned it over in her mind. “What does the spell do?”

“Give a beast temporary healing abilities. Right now, she can apply the spell and it heals once. The problem is, it wears off after one use and isn’t as strong as it should be.” That was the easiest way to explain it.

“Hmm.” Mittens brought her hand to her chin as she thought. Emira could practically see the gears turning. “So you want to meld multiple types of magic, specifically to let a beast carry a healing spell effectively.”

“That’s right.”

Mittens turned her eyes to the pile of books Emira had gathered. “Those books are too broad to help with that.”

Emira had figured, but didn’t know where else to start. “Could you help me find better ones?” She asked. Mittens spent a lot of time reading and Emira trusted her to know what she was doing.

Her sister nodded. “I’ll go look.” She rose from her chair, then walked back towards the same bookshelves Emira had been looking at before. While she was gone, Emira skimmed through the rest of the chapter she had been reading. She didn’t want to miss anything if it was going to be useful.

It wasn’t very useful, and by the time she had finished Mittens was on her way back with a couple books in her hands. Emira closed the book and put it back on top of the pile.

“Here you go.” Mittens put the books in front of her. “This first one examines theories in magnifying spell power through perception. The second is studies on ways to make spells last longer after being cast.” Leave it to Mittens to find just the right books.

“They’re perfect.” Emira stood for a moment to give Mittens a quick hug. “Thanks, you’re the best.”

Mittens averted her gaze as she pulled back from the embrace. “Glad I could help.” She said, and then picked her bag up off the ground. “I have to get going, it’s almost story time. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“I’m sure I will.” Emira then said goodbye and waved as Mittens turned to walk away. Once Mittens was out of sight, she opened the book about magnifying spell power and got back to work.

She tried not to think about how many hours it might’ve taken her to find this book on her own, and thanked Mittens again in her head.

Emira stayed at the library for another couple of hours. She found some interesting information in the first book, and some even better stuff in the second. She went to put the first set of books she got away and found another one that would help.

By the time she left the library, Emira had a good idea of how to fix the spell. She checked the three books out of the library to keep working on it. Though the reading had been tough, she’d had a productive couple of hours and was optimistic that the spell would work.

She would perfect it and practice at home so that she could get it just right, and then show Viney when it was ready.

It was going to be great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve missed writing these two together


	9. Chapter 9

Emira did her best to perfect the spell; she had been practicing it all week. She used it to enhance different types of illusion magic, making sure that it would work in different scenarios. Getting it to work correctly had required many consultations with the texts and even more tweaks, but it was finally ready.

She was going to show it to Viney.

Before school, Emira looked for Viney in the hallways. She tracked her down near her locker and asked her to meet her at the grudgby court after school. When Viney asked why, Emira just winked and told her it was a surprise. The other girl had flushed at that, though Emira wasn’t sure why, and agreed to meet her there. With that set, Emira went to class.

Emira tried to keep her mind off of the upcoming meeting for the rest of school. It was tough; there were so many uncertainties. The spell could fail, or Viney might not appreciate Emira interfering in her work. Maybe she should’ve done it in the morning, but she wanted to make sure she had enough time with Puddles to tweak the spell if it didn’t work the first time.

She almost cut class to make the day go by faster and ease her nerves, since her classes were dreadfully boring and she felt like she died a little more each time she checked the clock and only a few minutes had passed, but remembered that she promised Mittens to stop skipping class unless she had a very good reason. Emira was pretty sure that Mittens would not approve, and thus she stayed.

So Emira suffered through her classes, taking low quality notes and waiting impatiently for the end of the day.

When the final bell rang, Emira quickly went to her locker to put her school books away and to get her notes and the illusion magic theory books that she had borrowed from the library. She then walked towards the back exit of the school, not bothering to find Ed first. She already told him that morning that she had plans in the afternoon. He had shrugged and said okay.

When Emira reached the grudgby field, she saw that she was the first one there. She sat down and took out her notes for the spell, going over the theory one last time. The weather was mild, with a few clouds in the sky.

A few minutes later, Viney arrived. “Hey.” She said as she approached, in a softer tone than she usually used. She was holding the strap of her school bag with both hands, tugging on it slightly. She seemed nervous, though Emira wasn’t sure why.

“Hi, thanks for coming.” Emira said as she closed her notes, stood up, and brushed the dirt off her pants.

Viney nodded once. “No problem.” She was still standing strangely, averting her gaze like she wasn’t fully comfortable. “What did you want to talk about?”

Emira couldn’t help but grin. She opened her notes back up to the spell and showed it to Viney. “I’ve been trying to find a way to enhance your healing spell, and I think I’ve done it.” She passed the paper to Viney, so she could read it over.

“Oh.” Viney sounded surprised as she let go of her bag and took the notes, eyes moving to take in each word. Her eyebrows were scrunched together in thought. “That’s…” She paused for a moment to ponder her words, and Emira’s heart froze. “That’s incredible.” She finally said with a growing smile, and Emira felt like she could breathe again.

“It’ll enhance the strength of the magic. I’ve been testing it on illusion spells, but it should work with healing.” Emira was confident that it would.

Viney’s green eyes popped up from the paper, glimmering with excitement. “Let’s test it.” She handed back the notes and then spun one finger in the air, casting the spell to call for Puddles. Any nerves Viney had brought with her seemed to have dissipated, replaced with eagerness.

While she waited for the griffin to arrive, Emira pulled a fresh leaf out of her bag she brought for the test. She planned to rip it almost completely in half and have Puddles heal it. They would be able to tell the strength of the heal by how well the leaf was repaired. It wasn’t a perfect indicator, but it would be good enough for the initial tests.

Less than a minute later, Puddles flew overhead. She landed next to Viney and chirped what seemed to be a hello. After a moment of petting her, Viney was ready to begin.

Emira put the ripped leaf on the ground and explained how she wanted to use it. Viney agreed that would work and suggested they do the first run without Emira’s added spell. That way they would set a benchmark to compare the later results to.

With that decided, Viney started the control run. She cast the two spells and told Puddles to heal the leaf. The griffin obeyed, placing one talon against the target. It glowed with white light for a moment, and when the light faded it had clearly been healed. Instead of being ripped most of the way through, it was now only ripped about half way.

“So that’s the benchmark.” Viney said, picking up the leaf to measure the amount healed and to re-rip it. “Are you ready to try it?” She turned to Emira to ask.

Emira nodded, “Yeah.” She hoped this would work. Emira looked at her notes one last time, going over the spell in her mind.

Viney smiled, then started to cast the two spells. Once they were both in place, it was Emira’s turn. She made the spell circle slowly, focusing on casting the spell exactly right. Puddles’ claw gained a purple glow with the additional spell, meaning it reached the right target. She held the spell once it was cast.

Viney gave the command and Puddles moved to touch the leaf. The new version of the spell emitted a light purple glow instead of white and lasted about the same amount of time.

After the light faded, they could see the results.

The leaf was completely repaired with not a trace of the rip remaining. For a moment, the two girls stood in stunned silence.

“It works.” Was all Emira could say, staring at the leaf in shock.

“It works!” Viney beamed, practically leaping forward to tackle Emira with a hug. She was warm, too warm and too close; Emira’s heart was suddenly racing. She didn’t have a chance to return the hug, or even form a coherent thought, before Viney pulled away, laughing in pure happiness. Emira hadn’t heard that from her before, a genuine laugh. The sound lifted her spirits, Viney’s joy infectious.

Woah there, Emira reeled her mind in, these thoughts were getting out of hand. What was happening? That was something to ponder later.

“How’d you figure it out?” Viney asked, having moved to hug Puddles as well.

Even though she had come this far, it was embarrassing for Emira to admit. She didn’t usually study after all. “Some books from the library. I combined a few theories.”

“How does it work?” Viney sounded eager, the smile still on her face.

It was quite complicated, Emira wasn’t sure she could do it now with the way her heart was still pounding in her chest, mind out of control. “It would take too long to explain right now.” Emira responded, continuing with a quickly thought up plan when Viney’s expression fell. “How about next week, are you free after school on Wednesday?”

Viney thought about it for a moment. “I should be yes.” She said with a nod.

Emira couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll meet you at the healing classroom.”

“Alright.” A gust of wind passed through, rustling Viney’s hair. She reached up to tuck a loose strand behind her ear. “I’ll expect answers then.” She was stunning, Emira already knew but was starting to understand.

“I’ll bring them.” Emira promised.

The conversation soon moved to small talk, discussion of a history project, and the best way to clean griffin claws. They chatted for about five more minutes before parting, reaffirming when they would next meet.

Emira left the school with thoughts racing through her mind. She should organize her notes so that she could explain the spell to Viney in a way that made sense. She also needed to figure out what exactly she was feeling for the other girl.

If anybody else reported these symptoms to her, racing heart, flushed cheeks, hanging onto their every word, unable to look away, Emira would’ve easily diagnosed them. For herself, it wasn’t so simple.

Could she really be feeling this way? She wasn’t sure.

All Emira could do was get ready to meet with Viney next week and hope she could face both explaining the spell and handling her own feelings.

Unfortunately for Emira, there was no way for her to prepare for what would happen on that fateful day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready?

The days flew by and before Emira knew it, it was Wednesday.

When she told Ed that she would be busy, he said he already had plans for that afternoon. That was good, since it would keep him out of her hair.

She was surprisingly nervous for the event, almost as nervous as she had been to show Viney the spell in the first place. She even double checked that morning that she had all three books in her bag, not wanting to accidentally forget one of them. Emira knew it was silly, but couldn’t shake the nerves.

After her last class dismissed, Emira went to her locker to swap her textbooks for the library books. Ed was at his locker nearby, so she said goodbye to him before heading to the healing track classroom.

When she went in, she saw that this time Viney beat her there. The other teen had already opened her set of books and was taking notes as she usually did. She looked up when Emira entered, green eyes following her path.

Emira sat down next to her, taking the three books from the library out of her bag. They both said hello as Emira opened the first book. She had spent some time that weekend bookmarking each spot she wanted to show Viney. That way it would be easier to explain the spell to her.

“This is where I found the foundation of the spell.” Emira said, pointing out a specific passage on the page. Viney leaned in close to look over her shoulder, reading the lines of text. Her arm brushed against Emira’s, the touch warming Emira’s cheeks. Viney didn’t seem to notice; she was too focused on the book.

“So, the perception of increased power provides the base for the actual increase.” Viney mused, leaning away to jot something in her notes. “I never would’ve thought of that.”

“I wasn’t sure if it would work when layered.” Emira flipped to a later page, where she had marked another spot. “But this next part addressed that.”

Viney was smiling as she leaned back over, pressing her arm even more firmly against Emira’s to read the next passage. Her heart jumped despite her willing it to be cool. “Oh, yeah I see.” Viney muttered, eyes moving over the text. When she moved away to write again in her notes, Emira released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Emira then switched the book for the next one, moving to show the next passage. She explained how she was able to combine theories to make it have an actual effect. Viney kept writing in her notes at each part, reading and then asking questions as she had them.

They worked on the spell for the next hour, using the books Emira brought along with the translation Viney had created for the healing book. By working together, they could combine their two types of magic and perhaps find a way to improve the spell.

Viney still wanted the spell to last for multiple uses, so after reviewing how the first enhancement worked they discussed if illusion magic could make that happen. Emira had seen something that might work for that in the third book, so she took that out and showed it to Viney. They started to do small trials on illusion spells, seeing if they could multiply the effects.

They kept talking and working until they were interrupted by a knock at the door. The janitor was there, already insisting that it was time to lock up. Emira wanted to protest, there was no way it was already time to go. In fact it barely felt like time had passed at all, but there wasn’t anything that could be done about it. She had to pack up the books and leave the classroom. Viney put the healing book on the shelf and followed closely behind her.

Once they were in the hallway, the janitor locked the door and moved on to the next room. The two teens stood in the hallway, waiting for the other to speak.

Emira didn’t want to leave, but she knew she probably should. Viney usually went to the secret passages after being locked out of the classroom, where Emira certainly would not be welcome. When Emira looked at her, Viney had her eyebrows scrunched as if she were thinking something over, hands held together in front of her body.

Emira sighed, and then accepted that their time for the day was done.

“Since we’ve been kicked out.” Emira said, immediately drawing Viney’s attention to her. “I guess it’s time to head home.” She turned half way, as if to start leaving. “We should do this again sometime; I learned a lot.” She wanted to add, I enjoyed spending time with you, but quashed those words back in her mind. When Viney didn’t respond, Emira waved and started to move away.

“Wait.” With a force that one word shouldn’t have been able to convey, Viney stopped her. Emira turned back, noticing how Viney’s mouth was now set in a firm line. “I’m going to study in the room of shortcuts.” A slight pink dusted her cheeks, eyes locked directly on Emira’s. “Do you want to come?”

Even when Emira thought she was starting to figure Viney out, she found ways to surprise her. It felt like forever ago that she had been kicked out of the secret passage room, and now here she was being invited to it. Her heart felt warm, the feeling of contentment that came with it spreading through her body.

“Yeah, I do.” Emira smiled, and a matching grin grew on Viney’s face.

“Good.” Viney nodded, gesturing for Emira to follow her. “I’ll show you the way.” She started to walk down the hallway, with Emira following behind.

They took a familiar route to the detention track room, which was already unlocked.

That was unexpected; Emira assumed it would be locked. “They keep this room unlocked for you?” She asked as she followed Viney inside, shutting the door behind her.

“Just an agreement between Principal Bump and us multi track kids.” Viney replied cheekily, grabbing the chalk to draw on the chalk board. “We agreed to stay out of the shortcuts during school if he allowed us access after hours.” She drew a square on the board, then a keyhole shape in the middle. It was the same shape that appeared all those weeks ago when Emira brute forced the door with magic.

“Pretty good deal.” Emira commented, watching as Viney touched the chalk to the keyhole. This caused the outline to glow white, and the door to pop open. Viney climbed in first with Emira close behind. It was a tight fit, just like it had been before.

They walked the few steps to the second door, which Viney pulled open. She moved to enter the room, but stopped midway through the door. She was looking up at something, though Emira couldn’t tell what it was from behind her. The view from the hallway was too limiting.

“What’s wrong?” Emira asked, which seemed to snap Viney out of her trance. She took a few steps forward, which allowed Emira to enter the room as well.

She looked up.

About one level up on the tower, with one of the passage doors wide open, stood Ed. He was throwing something through the door, from that distance it looked like it might be streamers.

Emira could not believe that he was here. How dare he sneak around and do this? She told him not to so many times, and yet here he was. Emira was practically seeing red, her temper flaring.

“Edric!” Emira called to him, leaving Viney on the ground level to scurry up the ramp to his level. He jumped at being called out and then warily watched her approach, looking like he might bolt through the door at any moment. “What are you doing here!?” She was too flustered to ask at a regular volume.

Ed brought one hand to the back of his head sheepishly. “Oh hey, wasn’t expecting to run into you.”

“Answer the question.” Emira hissed back at him, pointing one finger at his chest.

Below them, Viney hadn’t moved. Her head was tilted forward, eyes averted.

“Just setting up some streamers for tomorrow.” Ed had his fake smile on in full, but couldn’t diffuse Emira’s anger with just that. “I thought it was fine, Mittens told me you were friends with her now.” Emira narrowed her eyes to intensify her glare. “This was the goal, wasn’t it?” His voice came up slightly in a defensive tone.

“Shut up.” Emira actually poked him in the chest this time, once with each word. “We’ll deal with this later.” She shifted her finger to point out the still open door, holding the pose and making her directions clear.

“Spoilsport…” Ed muttered under his breath, then did as he was told and slipped out through the door. Emira slammed it shut behind him, the door emitting a loud bang.

She took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself. What nerve he had to sneak in here, to use the passages after she told him not to. So what if she and Viney were friends now, that didn’t give him the right to do whatever he wanted. When she was done with him later, he’d have no rights left at all.

With a few more calming breaths, Emira turned to go back down the ramp. She saw that Viney was still standing in the same spot she stopped at before. Her hands had clenched into fists and, it was hard to tell, they looked like they were shaking.

When Emira reached the bottom of the ramp she walked towards Viney, now concerned. Viney’s head was tilted down, eyes on the floor, and yes her hands were shaking.

Emira opened her mouth to tell her that Ed would never bother them again, but Viney cut her off.

“You used me.” Her voice was low and hoarse, each word carrying raw emotion. They echoed through the large room, playing themselves multiple times in Emira’s head in the silence that followed.

Emira gathered herself and took one step closer to her. “What do you…”

Viney’s head snapped up, eyes flaring. “You know exactly what I mean.” The words were sharp, biting. “Was this the only reason you spent time with me. The only reason you helped with the spell.” She asked the questions more like statements, not wanting an answer at all, but Emira responded anyway.

“No, of course not.” She insisted, trying and failing to keep her tone level. She closed the distance between them and placed one hand against Viney’s trembling fist, gently and slowly.

Viney shook her touch off, stepping back and away. “Like I’d believe you.” She scoffed. The sound felt like it pierced directly to Emira’s heart. “All you do is take.”

“Viney…” Emira tried to step closer again, but Viney only moved back. “It’s not what you think.” If she just explained that Ed didn’t have permission of any kind, Viney would understand. If she could just explain how she felt, how even though it had started that way things had changed so much. How she never wanted to hurt Viney. How her heart was breaking in this moment.

Viney shook her head. “This was the goal, wasn’t it.” She mimicked Ed’s low voice. Emira recoiled back, remembering him saying those same words a few minutes before. “I’m not stupid. When we met, I thought you were the type to cut corners. Lazy, arrogant, cruel.” Her voice cracked on the word cruel. “I didn’t want to be right.” Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, which she roughly wiped away. “I even thought we could be…” She trailed off as another tear came, this time escaping to roll down her left cheek. “Nothing. We’re nothing.” The words carried venom, dark and malicious.

Emira reached towards her one last time, now her own hand trembling, but was shoved away.

“Get out.” Viney pointed towards the exit leading to the detention track room.

“But, Viney…” Emira was sure her voice was shaking.

“Just leave.” More tears were flowing now, Viney didn’t seem to care to stop them. Emira could feel her own running down her cheeks.

She turned towards the exit, walking the few steps to it. When she looked back Viney had collapsed to sit on the ramp, head in her hands. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Emira yearned to comfort her, but she would just make it worse.

She had caused this after all.

Viney hadn’t called her selfish, but that was word Emira would’ve used for herself. It fit well with all the rest.

Emira left the room. She almost fell out of the small square exit. When she reached the detention track room she had to stop. Her own eyes were too blurry to see properly out of.

If only she could stop crying.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started working on this chapter, I felt like I was doing Ed a disservice. As a result, I split the chapter into two parts, which will increase the total chapter count to 14. That being said, this one is shorter than usual.

By the time Emira made it home, she was able to dry her tears. She didn’t feel any better, in fact the longer she dwelled on what happened the worse she felt.

She cast an illusion spell before entering the house to cover up her splotchy red eyes. This wouldn’t stop her parents from noticing, but it would keep them from asking questions. They would be far more proud of her for covering up any imperfections than they would be concerned about what was wrong.

Luckily, neither of her parents were roaming the hallways of their large home when Emira walked through it, and she was able to reach her room without incident. Her siblings were probably in their rooms, but she didn’t know for sure. She couldn’t stand to let Mittens see her like this and after what Ed did, she didn’t want to see him.

Emira just went into her room, closing the door behind her. The sun was setting, so minimal light came in through the windows. She didn’t bother to turn the light on before putting her bag on the desk and then collapsing onto her bed. It offered welcome respite from the events of the day. Emira sat with her head in her hands, taking deep breaths to try and focus her thoughts. She let the illusion spell fall away.

How could this all have gone so wrong? In an instant her friendship with Viney fell apart, just like that. It felt like they were finally friends, but clearly that had been an illusion. It was so easily shattered by one event. Emira wondered if she could’ve prevented it, but no matter what she did Viney would’ve found Ed in the passages anyway.

The door to her room popped about a foot open, drawing Emira from her thoughts.

“I thought I heard you get back. I’m really sorry about what happened earlier.” Ed was poking his head through the door, letting light from the hallway in with him.

“Go away…” She muttered, which he ignored. Typical of him.

“Why’s it so dark in here?” He stepped the rest of the way into the room, flicking the light switch on. The sudden light stung her eyes, causing her to squint as they adjusted. Ed shut the door behind him. His eyes were wide as he looked at Emira, over at her bag on the desk, then back at her. “What happened?”

Emira rolled her eyes, “You happened.” She spoke quietly; she didn’t have the energy to raise her voice. She felt burnt out, listless.

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t’ve been in there.” Ed frowned as he apologized again, crossing his arms over his chest.

“That’s right.” Emira replied. She wasn’t going to forgive him that easily. “And I’m furious with you”

Ed shook his head. “You made that clear earlier, but I also know that my bad decisions aren’t enough to make you cry.” Ed walked across the room to sit next to her on the bed. “I can’t remember the last time you did.” He said in a lighter tone. Emira couldn’t remember either, perhaps it was when she broke a limb as a child? It didn’t really matter right now.

“I…” Opening her mouth to speak about it brought the pain back to the surface, a fresh wave of sadness washing over her. “After you left, Viney kicked me out.” Emira paused, not wanting to devolve back to how she had been at the school. Ed didn’t say anything, waiting for Emira to continue. “I took advantage of her, she hates me now.”

“We didn’t even get to use the passages, not properly.” Ed replied with a sigh, completely missing the point as usual.

Emira turned to glare at him, a new wave of anger sending a surge of energy through her. “And who’s fault is that?” She used the words like a spear. “If you’d listened to me, none of this would’ve happened. What were you thinking, going in there?”

Ed raised his hands defensively. “I thought it would be fine, honest.” He said, then lowered his voice to mutter. “Didn’t think I’d get caught.”

“Well, you were. And you ruined everything.” Suddenly, Emira’s burst of energy faded and she returned to feeling exhausted. She looked away from Ed, casting her gaze on the wall. “I’m not upset about losing the passages, you know. It’s not about them.”

“It isn’t?” Ed asked, though he didn’t sound too surprised.

“Only at the start. Once I started spending time with her, I didn’t want to stop. I even went to the library, me, at the library.” Emira hadn’t told Ed about that when it happened.

“To play pranks? Aren’t we banned?” He asked, looking up as he tried to remember.

Emira shook her head. “No, to read of all things. I sweet talked my way in and even checked out books so I could help her with this crazy complex healing spell.” Ed let out a dramatic fake gasp, the perfect response. “I feel like I’m drawn to her, like I can’t stay away. I don’t know how to explain it.” Emira looked down at her hands, letting out a harsh forced chuckle. “It’s over now, she’ll never forgive me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Ed replied, drawing Emira’s gaze right to him. He shrugged, “Maybe she just needs time to cool off.”

“I hope so.” Emira sighed.

Ed didn’t know when to let something go. “Besides, she must like something about you, to put up with you for this long.” He said with a smirk.

“Shut up.” Emira nudged him in the arm in protest, but couldn’t help the glimmer of warmth she felt at his words.

“I could talk to her to try and fix it.” Ed offered, shifting back to a serious expression.

Emira shook her head. “That would only make things worse.” There was no way Viney would talk with him.

“Yeah…” Ed slumped forward slightly.

The two sat in silence for a minute, thinking about what to say. Again Emira noted how tired she felt, the weight of the day sitting on her shoulders.

Ed broke the silence. “Did I say I’m sorry?” He asked.

“You did, but hearing it again doesn’t hurt.” Emira almost cracked a smile as she replied. “By the way, how’re you going to make it up to me?” She asked, trying to bring her tone up. She kind of succeeded, but knew Ed would see through it.

“Hmm.” Ed rubbed his chin as he thought about it for a moment. “I’m not sure.”

Emira thought too, wondering what he could do that would even remotely help. “Oh I’ve got it.” She suddenly had an idea. “The next 5 times we get caught, you deal with our parents.” This was brilliant, absolute genius.

Ed scrunched up his nose. “5 times? They’re the worst.” He complained with a grimace.

“Exactly.” Emira nodded. “Do we have a deal?”

Ed pouted for a moment, but then nodded. “Yeah.” He said glumly.

“Fantastic.” Knowing that she wouldn’t have to cover for them the next 5 times they were caught breaking the rules finally lifted Emira’s spirits, if just a little bit. “This doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you, but it helps.”

Ed nodded, “I get it.” He then rose from the bed and walked towards the door. “I’m gonna go, want the light on or off?”

Emira thought for a moment. “On.”

“Alright.” Ed opened the door, waving once and then exiting the room. He left the light on and closed the door behind him.

Emira stood up, moving over to her desk. She opened her school bag, looking at the library books inside. They drew a new pang of sadness, but not as strong as earlier.

She thought about taking them out, leaving them at home.

She left them in the bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a little detour here, but I think it’s worth it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to focus.

Emira didn’t get much sleep that night; her mind was too restless to relax. Whenever she managed to calm it, she would hear Viney’s words in her head again. She would remember how she harmed Viney, how much her rejection hurt. She’d remember the sound of her voice, telling her to leave.

Despite barely sleeping and feeling like she’d been attacked by a slitherbeast, Emira still got up at the usual time to go to school. She wanted to find Viney before class and talk to her, though she wasn’t sure if Viney would be willing to listen. She probably wouldn’t, but Emira still wanted to try.

After walking to school, trying not to yawn while she did, Emira swapped the library books for her school textbooks at her locker. Then, since she had plenty of time until class would start, she walked around to see if she could find Viney.

As she passed through the wing of the school where Viney’s locker was, Emira didn’t see her. It was still early though. Emira kept walking, looking in another set of hallways without success. Maybe Viney had stayed home, or hadn’t arrived at school yet?

Those guesses turned out to be incorrect. Emira passed by Viney’s locker one more time on her way to class. This time the other teen was there, putting something in her locker. Emira’s heart squeezed painfully at the sight of her, bringing back all of the feelings she dwelt on the night before.

“Viney.” Emira called out her name as she approached. Viney tightened her grip on the book she was putting in her bag, but otherwise didn’t react.

Emira stopped to Viney’s right, trying to look at her face. Now that she was closer, Emira could see that she was scowling, her whole body tense. Her hair, which was usually in some state of disorder, was even more disheveled than usual. “I need to apologize, for ev-“

“Don’t talk to me.” Viney cut her off, still not looking at her. Her voice was slightly hoarse, sounding strained. She closed her locker and turned away from Emira, starting to walk away without another word.

Emira mustered her courage and trailed after her. “Please, let me explain.” She tried again, keeping her voice down to not attract the attention of bystanders.

Viney spun on her heel, finally looking at Emira. Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying recently. “I said, leave me alone.” She didn’t way for a reply, turning to again walk down the hallway.

This time Emira let her go. It was a familiar feeling, being rejected like this. It was one of the first things Viney did when they met. That didn’t make it hurt any less.

Already feeling drained, Emira went to class; there was no reason to stay in the hallway any longer that morning. When class started she tried to focus, but it was hard to do. She couldn’t stop thinking about what had been lost, how things could never go back to how they were.

If Viney refused to listen, there wasn’t anything she could do. Maybe she would just have to accept it, accept that their friendship was over.

At least for now, she had no choice.

* * *

A little over a week had passed since the incident. Emira spent that week alternating between moping and trying to convince herself to snap out of it. Moping was winning. Even playing pranks would only improve her mood for a short while.

She hadn’t tried to talk to Viney again in that time, though she wasn’t sure how long she should wait before trying again.

The closest she got to Viney was walking past her in the hallway. At the time, Viney had been talking with her multi track friends. Viney had her back to Emira so she didn’t see Emira pass by, but the teen boy and dog both did. If looks could kill, Emira would’ve died twice.

It was Friday, the last day of the school week. Emira was going to try one more time, give herself one last chance to apologize and make things right. If it didn’t work, at least she’d have the weekend to start trying to figure out how to move on.

She suspected that Viney would stay after school to work on her healing spell, as she had for the last month. She would probably be in the usual healing track room, still translating the same book. She’d be trying to find a replacement for the spell Emira had used to enhance her healing spell. Emira tried not to dwell on that when she went there after school.

From outside the door, she couldn’t tell if Viney was inside. The window was too small to see the part of the room Viney liked to sit in. Emira knew this, but she tried to look in anyway.

As expected, she couldn’t see if Viney was there. She would have to go in to find out.

Emira took a deep breath, then entered the room. Viney was sitting with her books, in the same spot as usual. Her eyes flicked up towards the sound of the opening door, but immediately went back down when she saw who it was. She looked irritated as she wrote in her notes, a deep frown on her face.

Emira approached her slowly, not wanting to startle her. “Hey,” Emira said. Viney didn’t respond, but she did stop writing, pressing her pen harder against the paper. “I know you don’t want to talk to me.” Emira said as she reached the table Viney was at. She stood in front of her, with only the table and books between them. “But I need to talk to you.” She paused, giving Viney a chance to say something.

Viney didn’t move, didn’t speak. She also didn’t get up to leave, which was a plus. Emira took a chair from the next row of tables and turned it so she could sit down. Viney still didn’t look at her.

Emira cleared her throat, and then continued. “I know you might not forgive me, and I understand why. If you don’t want to, you won’t have to see me again.” She took a deep breath. “I hurt you, and I’m sorry. I never wanted to, but I did.” Emira tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke, which was difficult to achieve. She had been waiting to say these things all week, but that didn’t stop the pangs of pain in her heart as she spoke. “Yes, at first I was only thinking about the passages, but my feelings changed. I had so much fun getting to know you, being your friend.” Her voice was shaking now, wavering despite her best efforts. “The passages don’t matter, only you.”

This finally drew a reaction from Viney. She looked up slowly, still holding her pen against the paper. She locked eyes with Emira, her gaze clear. She was still frowning, with gritted teeth. “Then why did your brother say they did?” Viney asked, her words firm.

“I…” Emira’s voice trailed off after the first word, trying to figure out how to say it. This was a question she’d asked herself over the last week, why hadn’t she just told him the truth? This whole situation could’ve been averted if she had. She was starting to figure it out though, no more holding back. “It was easier to lie to him.” Emira admitted, bringing her hands together on the table.

Viney scoffed, putting down her pen and crossing her arms. “That doesn’t make any sense. Aren’t you twins?”

“Yeah but,” Emira paused mid-sentence to consider her words. “I didn’t think he’d understand.”

Again, Viney didn’t buy it. “What’s so hard to understand?” Her eyebrows were furrowed, her tone biting.

Emira had earned her criticism, but she tried to keep it on track. “It was too embarrassing.”

“Do Blights not make friends like everybody else?” Viney mocked her, clearly irritated with the conversation. She had raised her voice, increasing the tension in the room.

Emira’s emotions spiked and she slipped up, words coming out that were true, but she never intended to say. “I couldn’t admit I was falling for you.” Oh no, Emira cursed in her head, she hadn’t meant to say that.

Viney eyes widened at the statement, looking shocked. Her arms gradually fell away from her chest. “What did you say?” She asked, as if she couldn’t believe what she heard. She looked at Emira like she had grown a second head, confused with a hint of something else. Emira couldn’t tell. Her cheeks were slowly turning red.

“That is… I just…” Emira was absolutely mortified at what she just said. Somehow, despite everything, she had made everything worse. She had to get out of there. “Nothing, I have to go.” She stood abruptly, the legs of the chair making a loud scraping noise as it was pushed back.

Emira tore her eyes away from Viney and bolted for the door, not looking back. She couldn’t bear to see when Viney’s expression would change to the inevitable next step, disgust.

She practically slammed the door to the classroom, trying to look composed as she walked through the school. Almost all of the students were gone by then, but there could still be a few around.

She had just gone to apologize and explain herself, how had she ended up confessing? In the heat of the moment, the words just slipped out. What she had been thinking for the last few weeks, that she was slowly falling for this girl, couldn’t be kept in any longer.

The way Viney reacted though, her stare and confusion, she clearly didn’t return Emira’s feelings.

At least Emira had already designated the weekend to recover from heartbreak.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve cancelled the epilogue. It was essentially filler and was there to tie up the healing spell thread, but it didn’t add much to the story. I think ending here will be better.

The weekend helped, but only a little.

After that day, Emira did her best to avoid Viney. She already was planning to stop seeking her out after talking to her one last time, but now that Emira had embarrassed herself so badly in that conversation she wanted to hide under a rock and never come out.

Unfortunately, life and school went on and she had no choice but to poke her head out into the world.

She stayed far away from the healing track and beast keeping parts of the school. If she happened to see Viney walking down the hallway, she turned the other way. Once she even ducked into the bathroom to avoid walking past her.

This strategy worked pretty well, until her history of covens class. It was funny, just a week before Emira had been excited to have class with Viney. Now she would’ve given anything to switch.

When she got to that class, she sat in her usual seat. Viney wasn’t there yet. Emira took her history book and notes out so she could pretend to be busy reading them, if need be. She tried to keep her eyes down, tried to look anywhere but the door or Viney’s seat.

It was funny, the harder she tried not to look the more she actually did. She was starting to get nervous, worried that Viney could try to talk to her.

When Ed walked in the door, he came over to talk before class. “You look like you’re about to puke.” He commented, not mincing his words.

The very thought made Emira’s stomach churn. “I hope not.” She replied with a grimace, eyes flicking once again towards the door.

“Try to chill out then.” He spouted advice that, while it did sound good, would be difficult to follow through on.

“Easier said than done.” Emira muttered, drawing a chuckle from her brother.

“Good luck.” Ed said with a wave, walking away to his own seat in the back of the room. Emira didn’t watch him go, instead looking again towards the door. Class was starting soon, so she wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

This time, it was Viney who entered. She was carrying her usual school bag, in her usual modified school uniform. Immediately, Emira looked down at her desk. She opened her history book to a random page, so she’d have something to look at.

Though the book was open, she wasn’t reading it. She was wondering how Viney was doing, if Viney still hated her, if Viney was disgusted by her now. She wanted to know, but she also didn’t. It was a weird contradiction.

Suddenly, Emira could see a shadow being cast over her desk. A shadow with distinctly large hair, one that was very familiar. Was it always this hot in here? Emira was sweating, her heart beating abnormally fast as she kept her eyes turned down. She wasn’t going to look up unless she was called.

Viney stood next to her desk for just a few more seconds, though they felt like they lasted a lifetime, sliding one hand across it before walking back towards the front of the classroom. Emira let out a sigh of relief, trying to calm her racing heart.

She glanced over at where Viney had touched the desk, but was surprised to see a new object there. There was a small white envelope, which for sure had not been there when Emira sat down. Ed hadn’t left it either.

Emira reached over to it and picked it up. When she flipped it over, she saw that it had her name written on the other side. Did Viney leave this for her?

Emira held her breath as she opened it, taking out a single piece of folded paper. She unfolded it and read the short note. It said:

“Meet me behind the building after school.

\- Viney”

The way she signed her name was cute, with a loop on the y, was Emira’s initial reaction. Then she shook her head; that was not where her mind should’ve gone.

It matched Viney’s style all right, straightforward and to the point. What did she want to meet with Emira for? The note didn’t say, but Emira had some guesses. None of them were good.

Emira remembered when Viney almost got in a fight with the other beast track students in the hallways, and wondered if she had a similar fate coming. She had certainly earned it, with how badly she hurt her.

The rational part of her brain, which was usually pretty strong, knew that that was probably not going to happen. Unfortunately, Emira was too emotionally frazzled to listen to it.

Another option was the spell. Perhaps she wanted all of Emira’s notes on the spell, so she could use them to keep improving it. That was more likely, still though Emira wasn’t sure.

Emira thought about not going, but that wasn’t an option. She had already apologized for the passages and spilled her heart out, which had been extremely embarrassing, but she didn’t know how Viney felt about either of those things. Her empty stare had said a lot on Friday, but not with any actual words.

Whatever Viney wanted to meet Emira for, she deserved to be heard.

Class soon started, with the teacher talking at the front of the room, jolting Emira out of her thoughts.

She tried to focus, with little success, for the rest of the school day.

By the time her last class dismissed, she felt like she might actually puke. Sitting on the note all day and waiting for school to end was fraying her nerves.

Emira walked slowly to her locker after class, putting her books away. She then told Ed that she’d catch up with him later, before heading towards the back exit of the school. There was a wide field of space between the back exit and the grudgby court, which is probably where Viney wanted to meet.

When Emira walked out the back door, Viney was already waiting for her along the back wall of the school. She hesitated, but she had committed to doing this.

Emira took a deep breath, then walked towards her. Viney watched her approach silently, waiting to speak until she was only a few feet away. “Thank you for coming.” She said in an even tone. She looked composed and determined, like nothing was going to get in her way. She didn’t seem angry anymore, or at least she was far less mad than she had been.

“Anytime.” Though Emira wanted to avoid Viney, she wasn’t lying when she said that. She couldn’t resist the other witch, couldn’t stay away.

Viney nodded. “I just wanted to clear some things up, after last week.” Her cheeks gained a slight pink as she spoke, but her expression remained serious. “I’m sorry about how I treated you last week. I was angry and I took it out on you.”

“I deserved it.” Emira cut in, since she was the one who hurt Viney in the first place.

“Still,” Viney shook her head. “I overreacted. You tried to explain, but I wouldn’t listen.” She brought her hands together, in front of her body. “It hurt so much, learning that you only cared about the passages. All I could do was lash out. I know now that there was more to it than that.” 

Emira understood the feeling, the pain of losing trust in someone. How hard it was to regain that trust. “I get it.” She replied, watching Viney carefully. It seemed like Viney might actually forgive her, which she had never expected to happen.

“For Friday too, I should apologize.” Viney continued, but Emira raised one hand to interject.

“Wait, I’m the one who should apologize for Friday.” Emira insisted. Viney looked surprised at her assertion. “I went there to apologize, but I really overstepped your boundaries. I messed up that conversation pretty badly.” Emira could feel her face heating up as she remembered what she said that day, what she confessed to.

Viney just shook her head. “We both did. I didn’t mean to rebuke you.” She looked right into Emira’s eyes, her burning gaze impossible to look away from. “In fact, you left so fast I didn’t have time to process what you said, let alone respond.” Now Viney was blushing, still maintaining eye contact.

Her blush, the way her hands were nervously held together, the small hint of a smile on her face. Was Viney saying what Emira thought she was?

Emira’s heart was pounding. “You wanted to respond?” She asked in a light tone, barely able to breath.

“Yes.” Viney stepped closer to Emira, shortening the distance between them. “I’ve been falling for you too, all this time.” She reached forward and took one of Emira’s hands with both of hers, lifting it to a comfortable height. She rubbed her thumb over the back of Emira’s hand, sending a jolt of electricity down Emira’s spine. “Will you go out with me?”

If Emira had felt faint earlier, that was nothing compared to this moment. “I would love to, yes.” She replied, bringing her other hand to join with Viney’s. She was smiling ear to ear, overcome with joy.

Viney beamed back at her, the first smile Emira had seen from her in a long time. She looked absolutely radiant. Emira wanted to kiss her, could she do that? She didn’t know, so she asked.

“Can I kiss you?” Emira let go of Viney’s hands and brought her right hand up to Viney’s cheek, placing her finger against it gently. Her skin was warm to the touch.

“Please do.” Viney smiled up at Emira softly.

With that invitation, Emira slowly leaned in. She moved her hand down to Viney’s shoulder, tilting her head as not to bump noses. Her eyes flicked shut when she was close, and she pressed her lips against Viney’s in a chaste kiss.

Viney returned the kiss firmly, just for a moment, before Emira pulled away. The two locked eyes again, and both broke out in a smile.

“So, when did you start to fall for me?” Emira asked with a smirk, bringing her hand down to rest against Viney’s waist. She didn’t want to stop touching her, now that she could.

Viney reciprocated the gesture, bringing her right hand up to Emira’s waist, her gentle touch sending a flurry of sparks. “It’s hard to say exactly when, I think the first time I realized it was when you met Puddles.”

“Oh?” Emira raised one eyebrow in question.

“Your face was too cute, when you pet her for the first time.” Viney chuckled. “How about you?” She turned the question around.

Emira thought about it for a moment. “Do you remember the first time we studied together?”

Viney nodded, grinning. “You mean when you studied near me?” She asked in a playful tone.

“Yes, then,” Emira smiled back at her. “When you told me about mixing magic, I thought you were stunning. I fell for you more every day since.”

Viney moved her arms, reaching up to wrap them behind Emira’s neck. “I’m glad you did.” She said, pulling Emira forward so she could lean up and kiss her. This was their second kiss; it felt right.

After, Viney released Emira and stepped back, her cheeks as flushed as Emira felt. They both took a moment to breath, to relish in their new happiness.

“We should head back towards the school.” Viney said after a minute, gesturing towards the building.

Emira nodded. “Alright.” She reached out to take Viney’s hand. “Where should we go on our first date?” Emira asked. The pair started walking back towards the school as they talked.

“Would you be opposed to the library?” Viney gripped her hand firmly, as if not wanting to let her go. “I’ve been meaning to visit and look at illusion spell books.”

“Sounds great.” Emira gently swung their hands as they walked. “Ed can’t disturb us there; he’s banned.”

Viney laughed at that, a beautiful sound. “Perfect.”

The two reached the school and went back inside, walking through the now empty hallways.

They continued to plan their first date, picking a day and time for it. They talked about the lack of progress Viney made on the spell while they were fighting, how Ed was making up for his mistakes, and how excited they were to take their relationship to the next level.

Even when they had to part, to walk home to different parts of town, Emira carried the warmth of Viney’s hand, of her lips, with her.

Even though she knew relationships were hard work, she was prepared to give it 100 percent. Her parents might give her trouble about the relationship and she would certainly fight with Viney again in the future, but Emira was up for the challenge. They had already overcome so much, it felt like they could take on anything. There were no shortcuts here, but Emira didn’t need them.

Like a griffin flying in the sky, one who could coincidentally use healing magic, Emira’s heart was soaring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end. Thank you everyone who has read, commented, or left kudos on this fic! I had a lot of fun writing it and was happy to share the journey with all of you!


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